Sunday, July 19, 2015

The
Corporal Matthew Edwards Legacy Foundation will hold the first Hero Run 5K and
Kids Fun Run on Friday, July 24, at Heritage Park.

Time
is 7 p.m.

The
foundation seeks participants and donors to honor the late Cpl. Edwards on the
fifth anniversary of his EOW (End of Watch).

The
event will offer a 5K run, fun run, merchandise for sale, hot dogs and Mountain
Dew (Matthew's favorites) and bounce houses. The organizers challenge those
participating to wear a super hero custom. The run will go outside the park,
past the Taylor Police Department and the Wall of Honor in the Cameron Priebe
Plaza.

The
Taylor Farmer's Market is putting out a call for all classic car owners. Its putting together a car show for Friday, July 24 -- the day before the annual
Telegraph Cruise.

The
classic car show will be part of the "Christmas in July" theme of the
market that day. Our vendors and volunteers will be celebrating the Christmas
spirit in the summertime weather (and wearing Santa hats), and the market will
also offer some giveaways for children.

The
classic car show will be held in front of the Sheridan Center Open Air
Pavilion. It will be open to the first 30 cars that register.

Registration is
easy -- just call or email Kimber Dorton at (734) 374-1450 or
kdorton@ci.taylor.mi.us. She will get you a registration form. Fee is only $10.

THEY ARE STILL ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS.

Trophies
will go to three honored vehicles. Rick Sollars will hand out the Mayor's
Trophy; Thom Oullette will hand out the Market Manager's Trophy. And the third
trophy will be awarded by a random visitor to the farmer's market that day.

Cars
will be on display in the parking lot from 1-4 p.m. All cars should arrive by
no later than 12:30 p.m.

Trophies
will be awarded at 3 p.m.

No
car sales are allowed during this event.

So
get in the classic car spirit on Telegraph Cruise weekend. If you have a
classic car, enter it in the car show. If you are just a car lover, visit the
market and kill two birds with one stone.

As
always, the community walk around Heritage Park will begin at 10:30 a.m.,
starting at the Sheridan Center. The market opens at 11 a.m. and closes at 6
p.m. The car show will be held between 1-4 p.m.

(NOTE:
In addition that same day, the Corporal Matthew Edwards Legacy Foundation will
hold its first ever Hero Run 5K at 7 p.m. in Heritage Park.)

On
Saturday, July 25, classic car enthusiasts from throughout Southeast
Michigan – and beyond – will converge on Telegraph Road for the 11th annual
Telegraph Classic Car Cruise. Spanning the cities of Taylor, Dearborn Heights,
Dearborn and Redford, the event is expected to draw thousands of enthusiasts
between the hours of 9 a.m. and 9 p.m.

Several
business owners and operators along Telegraph are planning special
event-related activities – including outdoor parties/services and making their
parking lots available to cruisers and spectators. Taylor businesses and
organizations that plan outdoor activities along the route should remember to
file the proper permits with the City.

Permits
can be obtained through the Customer Service Center at City Hall, 23555
Goddard, during regular business hours Mondays through Fridays. For more
information, call (734) 287-6550.

Spectators
should be mindful of the weather conditions: Protect yourself from exposure to
the sun and heat and drink plenty of non-alcoholic beverages throughout the day
to remain hydrated.

Police
along the route will have stepped-up patrols throughout the cruise. Cruisers
should adhere to all normal traffic ordinances regarding speed, legal turns,
etc. The Taylor Police Department wants everyone to enjoy the Telegraph Cruise,
but cautions spectators and participants against the following:

•Driving
and drinking will not be tolerated

•Pedestrians
should stay clear of the street

•Please
do not throw anything into the roadway, including water or bleach

The
event originated in honor of the Telegraph Tomorrow Association, which worked
to improve and promote the Telegraph Road corridor. The City of Taylor is
finalizing plans for a classic car display, emergency stations, etc. in the old
Handy Andy Lot. Although nothing was confirmed as of this printing, other hot
spots usually include The United Auto Workers Region 1A and Biker Bob’s.

A
portion of Pelham Road will be closed from Monday, July 20, through Friday,
July 24, to through traffic. Canadian National Railroad is going to repair
tracks in the area between Goddard and Wick. The CN track cross Pelham just
south of Wick Road.

Through
traffic should avoid the area during that time frame. The suggested detour is
to use Ecorse Road, Telegraph and Goddard.

The
Downriver Community Conference, sub-contracting with Employment & Training
Designs, Inc., has received funds to operate a Summer Youth Employment Program
in the out-Wayne County area and is seeking immediate applicants for summer job
posts.The funding for this program is being provided by the Detroit Wayne
Mental Health Authority.

The
program is targeting 18 to 24 year olds who are interested in immediate summer
employment. It will last approximately four to eight weeks, beginning
immediately. Limited space is available. Participants will be paid one of the
following pay rates: $8.15, $0, or $10 per hour.

Interested
18-24 year olds need to go on-line to ETD’s website to download the application
and follow the directions for applying.

Attention all residents! The Junior League World Series,
which is hosted by Taylor each and every year in August, is looking for plastic
bottle caps to raise funds for its organization.

Tournament Director Greg Bzura is seeking discarded
plastic bottle caps of all brands, shapes and sizes. His organization plans to
turn them in and use the resulting funds for improvements at World Series Field
in Heritage Park.

Donating the caps is simple: Just drop them off on the
second floor of City Hall, right next to Mayor Rick Sollars' office. There will
be a spot in the waiting area to drop off the caps. You can drop them off in
any fashion -- dozens at a time, bags full, etc. If you are dropping off bags
or boxes, please make sure that the container is sealed.

If you have any questions on this campaign, please contact
Kimber Dorton at (734) 374-1450 or Karl Ziomek (734) 374-1447 in the mayor's
office.

The
Tax Increment Finance Authority of the City of Taylor has approved $750,000 in
roadway improvements for Superior Boulevard, between Racho Road and Telegraph
Road.

The
project is tentatively scheduled to begin in about two weeks (during the last
week of July) and should be finished by Labor Day. As part of the renovation
process, Superior may be totally closed or limited to one-way traffic at times.

TIFA
funding could be used in this project because that deteriorating portion of
Superior (see photo at right) lies in a TIFA district. The street is a major
carrier of traffic for the Sportsplex, Southland Center and Kennedy High
School.

A “TIF”
uses future gains in taxes to subsidize current improvements, which are
projected to create the conditions for gains above the routine yearly increases
which often occur without the improvements. The borrowing capacity is
established by committing all normal yearly future real estate tax increases
from every parcel in the TIF district (for 20–25 years, or more) along with the
anticipated new tax revenue eventually coming from the project or projects
themselves.

“When
the State of Michigan’s road funding plan stalled back in May, we couldn’t
afford to sit and wait for them any longer,” said Mayor Sollars. “Our roads in
Taylor are terrible, and the only thing we’ve been able to do is patch them.
While we cannot afford major road replacements, we can do what are commonly
referred to as ‘concrete cuts.’ That type of work really makes a difference.”

Similar
roadwork has been occurring all over the community and will continue through
the good weather months. After major improvements were done earlier this year
on Racho Road (between Heritage Park and Southland Center, see photo below),
contractor Fiore Construction repaired heavily traveled Leroy Street, which is
located south of Eureka, between Beech Daly and Inkster. Other spots included
work in the

northwest part of the City, south of Ecorse and east of Beech. In
addition, Wayne County, Taylor and the City of Southgate combined on the Allen
Road rehabilitation work between Northline and Goddard roads.

Next
year, the county has agreed to move up the repairs of Eureka Road, west of
Racho to Allen, to match the Menards’ development coming into the community.
Menards is replacing the old Gibraltar Trade Center. Upcoming will also be work
on Pardee Road between Eureka and Superior, which is also being supported by
funds from TIFA. Mayor Sollars has said that once that TIFA work is done on
Pardee (and it will also include sidewalk installation), the City plans to
extend those street repairs father north at a date to be determined in the
future.

The
Taylor Police Department will be hosting two sessions of its new Youth Police
Academy this summer.

The
first session is from August 10-14 and the second session is from August 17-21.
Both sessions will run from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. each day. The program is FREE of
charge and open to Taylor residents entering the 9th, 10th, 11th or 12th grades
in September 2015.

The
program is for high school students with an interest in law enforcement. The
20-hour program is designed to give students a taste of what being a police
officer is all about. Students will receive hands-on instruction from officers
representing many of the different units within TPD. Members of the Taylor Fire
Department and the 23rd District Court will also be participating.

There
is no cost to the students. T-shirts and lunches will be provided.

The
youth academy will allow students to practice skills in a positive environment;
and provide an opportunity for students to be recruited as interns or future
Police Explorers.

It
is that time of year and the Taylor Summer Academy is in full swing.

The
Taylor Summer Academy is in full swing. Last week was the first week of
the Taylor Summer Academy. Around 200 students going into grades 2-8 are
enjoying a fun filled time of learning. Students were able to choose
classes such as: Could You Survive in the Wilderness, Discover the Watery Deep,
Movie Magic, Wacky Science, Painting with Heart, and more.

The program ended a recent week with a action-packed and awe-inspiring magic show put on by Doug
Sheer, "The Magic of Science."

He did his magic tricks and shared
some on the science that made many of his tricks possible. Was it really
magic, or was ot simply science? He told the kids that many of his tricks
could be explained by science and that they would have to visit a library and
read a book to find out how.